


Three Forces Empowered

by InkytheGhost



Series: Three - Medieval dt au [2]
Category: Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assassin Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), Assassination Plot(s), Blood and Injury, Character Death, Clay | Dream & Technoblade Friendship (Video Blogging RPF), Clay | Dream Needs a Hug (Video Blogging RPF), Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, Knight Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Mages, Magic, Mentioned Darryl Noveschosch, Mentioned Technoblade (Video Blogging RPF), Mentioned Zak Ahmed, Murder, Near Death Experiences, POV Alternating, POV Clay | Dream (Video Blogging RPF), POV GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF), POV Sapnap (Video Blogging RPF), Prince GeorgeNotFound (Video Blogging RPF)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-14
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 02:42:18
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 7,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28753098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkytheGhost/pseuds/InkytheGhost
Summary: Sapnap is a warrior, with two friends he needs to protect.George is a prince, travelling with a knight and the man who tried to kill him.Dream is an assassin, with a new target in his mind, but the sudden opening up of his past might be the doom of his future.---Book 2, after "Three Fates Entwined"Written by me (InkytheGhost), cross-posted from wattpadDon't steal my work :p
Series: Three - Medieval dt au [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2096922
Comments: 8
Kudos: 41





	1. Chapter 1

Sapnap was a warrior. He had fought for the king and the prince, honoring generations of his family that had served as well. Loyal to his friends, even if that loyalty would get him killed.

But at the moment, he didn't feel proud of his loyalty at all.

Mostly because he wanted to abandon it.

"Hurry!" the sandy-haired man on his left shouted, waving a hand forward. "We can't outrun them for long. If we can get far enough away that we can climb a tree or something, we should be fine! We just need to keep running!"

As if Sapnap needed that reminder.

The man, Dream, was an assassin, so his survival instincts were strong. He knew what he was doing. But Sapnap had been in the exact situation once before, and it still gave him nightmares. _His_ survival instincts were strong as well. And at the moment, all he wanted to do was drop everything and flee until his legs could carry him no further.

"Tired," the man on his right panted, completely out of breath. The prince's cloak swished behind him as he ran, so obvious and noticeable that Sapnap wanted to tear it off of his shoulders and stuff it into his pocket or something.

 _Please,_ he begged, _please don't let it end this way. I--- I just can't. Not again._

Howls echoed behind him, getting closer and closer by the second. Sapnap put on an added burst of speed, pulling ahead of his two friends. _No, no, no, please, no...._

There were too many of them --- a whole pack, just like last time. And if things happened just like last time, Sapnap doubted that he could get over the trauma. 

His chasers were right on their heels. He could hear their low growls, their quick breathes, the sound of their padded paws on the hard ground.

_Wolves._

***

Sapnap still remembered his first encounter with the animals like it was yesterday.

He had been young, maybe twelve years old at most, and completely innocent to the horrors of the world. Why wouldn't he? He enjoyed sleeping out in the wilderness, gazing up at the stars above at night, or gathering seeds to feed the birds. 

The birds _adored_ him. He was like Snow White, except without that much singing and dancing and dwarfs that he had to do chores for. 

But that meant that, when the wolves attacked, he was completely alone.

It had been noon. The sun was setting, basking the sky in soft colors of rosy reds and vibrant oranges. Such a nice setting for his death.

Then, the wolves attacked. 

Even to this day, Sapnap didn't really understand _why_ the wolves had attacked. He wasn't sure if he had provoked them somehow, or if he'd been roaming around too close to them, but one second he was fine, and the next second jagged lines ran down his chest, his shirt torn and blood already staining the fabric.

Sapnap stumbled back. The wolves at the front of the pack growled at him, their lips bared back, showing their teeth. Maybe he screamed. Maybe he didn't. But either way, he tried to run.

Wolves against a twelve-year-old. Who would win?

He ran through the trees, trying to give himself a boost by pushing off of their rough bark. He could still hear the yips and growls behind him, but he didn't dare look back. Somewhere in his brain, amidst all the panic, he knew that if he slowed down for even a second he'd be dead.

 _Ow,_ he thought with detached pain as his hand touched the blood on his chest. 

Sapnap's feet hurt from so much running. _I want to stop, please. I want to give up. This is so hard._

_No._

_I can't._

_I_ won't.

Sharp pain exploded in his right leg. Sapnap bit the inside of his cheek to stop from shouting out. The taste of blood flooded his mouth. 

He stumbled forward. His hands connected with a tree and he started scrambling up, desperately reaching up the branches. His leg hurt with every step, but he kept going. Sapnap hoisted himself up until he was halfway up the tree, but even then he didn't dare to stop. He kept going, higher than he had ever been before. 

The sun was a lot lower in the sky already. _How long have I been going for? Am I safe yet?_

Sapnap stopped and strained his ears. He couldn't hear anything anymore. _Is that a good thing? Or have I just lost my sense of hearing?_

No, he was right; the howls of the wolves were gone. Either the wolves had given up and left, or they had learned the sneaky skills of a ninja and were crouching in the bushes below the tree, holding throwing stars in their paws and wrapping black bandanas around their foreheads. The idea was so absurd that he couldn't held but smile.

Night had fallen. Sapnap didn't move from his position in the tree, just in case he _wasn't_ being crazy and there really _were_ ninja wolves hiding beneath him. 

He checked his wounds. If his father was there, he'd be able to tell him the severity, but Sapnap was alone. He'd have to figure things out by himself.

Sapnap suddenly felt dizzy. The inside of his head felt like it was going through a blender with power at max. Blood seeped out of the claw marks on his chest, and closer examination revealed that his leg had been bitten as well. 

_Great,_ he thought glumly. _I'm going to die._

The stars were out in the sky already. Sapnap gazed up, ignoring the pain, and tried to make out the constellations his father had taught him. _There's Ursa Major,_ he thought. _That means... yeah, there's Polaris._

The sound of his heartbeat echoed in his ears. His eyes started drifting closed. Now that the urgent fear of wolves was gone, the adrenaline that had kept him going was gone too. He felt _so tired._ He just wanted to sleep.

_Sapnap?_

_Oh, hello,_ Sapnap thought. _You're the voice in my head, aren't you?_

_Sapnap, can you hear me?_

_Er... yes?_

_Answer me!_

Sapnap rolled onto his side. His stomach sent another wave of pain through him. He couldn't feel the wound on his leg anymore. _Is that a good thing?_

_Sapnap!_

"Nuuuuggghh," he groaned. 

There was the sound of rustling beside him. A hand stroked his cheek tenderly. Then, a pair of arms lifted him up and started taking him down.

_Is this it?_

_Am I dead?_

"Sapnap."

Sapnap opened his eyes and gazed up at the face above him. His father stared down at him, worry etched into the lines on his face. 

"Hey, Sapnap," he said gently. "You're okay. Come on, let's get you home."

He didn't answer. All the pain from his wounds came at him all at once and he blacked out.


	2. Chapter 2

George was a prince, but that didn't help him at all. Instead, it nearly got him killed by an assassin. And now, because he was helping said assassin track down his employer and take him down, he was probably going to die to wolves.

"Sapnap!" the assassin in question, Dream, shouted. "Go right! Climb a tree, do whatever, and split up!"

"N-no!" Sapnap yelled back. "That's what I did last time!"

"What do you _mean,_ last time?"

George tossed a look over at his friend. He seemed stress to the extreme, which was definitely not like him. The Sapnap _he_ knew only had two modes: chaotic and _less_ chaotic.

Maybe that was an exaggeration.

"Sapnap, what happened last time?" George demanded as the howls of the wolves echoed in his ears.

Sapnap gave a slight shiver. "U-uh... I was attacked. By wolves."

"We know that," he said, trying not to seem irritated. "But what else? What happened last time you climbed a tree?"

"I n-nearly bled to death, I think?"

"You won't this time," Dream assured him. "You--- _ahh!"_

George's head snapped in his direction. His eyes widened when he saw the slash on the assassin's arm. Judging from the position of the strike, Dream had tried to hit the wolves back with his knife and failed.

"Dream, don't attack them back!" George shouted at him. "Just _run!"_

Dream gritted his teeth, his hand over the injury on his arm. "Climb! _Right now!"_

George didn't know how Dream would be able to climb a tree with one arm injured, but he didn't question the order. He ran towards the nearest tree and started scaling up it, gripping the surface tightly. His palms were sore and blistering. It had been a long time since he had last climbed a tree, much less this quickly, but his life was at stake. He couldn't just _stop._

A quick glance backwards told him that Dream was doing alright. He was out of the range of the wolves claws, at least, but if the animals jumped up to strike, he'd be in trouble.

"Sapnap?" George called.

No answer. His heart thumped in his chest. "Sapnap!"

"Sapnap, get a tree and start climbing!" Dream yelled. "You can't take him on by yourself!"

_What?_

George stopped climbing and looked down. Sapnap was standing on the ground, his sword out, his stance clearly showing that he was poised to attack. The wolves had reached him and were starting to spread out in a ring, their lips bared back in a snarl.

"No, no, no, Sapnap, no," George muttered. _"No."_

"I hate you all," Sapnap said quietly to the wolves. "You nearly killed me. You left me for dead. You attacked me unprovoked. _Twice._ First, when I was just _twelve._ And now, so many years later, you're coming at me again."

George could see his grip tighten on the hilt of his sword. His knuckles were white. "Sapnap, don't," he warned.

From the tree beside him, Dream was staring down at the scene, frowning slightly, his gaze focused on the commotion below him. His arm was still bleeding badly, and by the slightly pale tinge of his face, he was losing a lot of blood.

Realization dawned on George. "Dream," he said in a low voice. "You _can't."_

"He won't survive an attack," Dream said. "Especially not in his current state of mind."

George clutched the tree. It felt like his world was threatening to slip out from beneath him. His friend was in danger, and his other friend was about to _put_ himself in danger to save him. 

Everything had been fine before the wolves came.

George had been in the castle, waiting for news, while his father lectured him on the ways of a king. He had taken the time to study a large map and take in the neighboring kingdoms to his, Kingdom Superiora. As a child, he had found it stupid that the kingdoms were named after the family's name. As a childish adult, he still found it stupid.

House Superiora. He didn't know what his ancestors were thinking when they came up with that. Maybe they were feeling fancy. The family crest certainly embodied that word.

The map was really massive. George had never left his own kingdom, so he had never seen any of the outside _outside_ world before. The idea entranced him. He was going to go out there into the unknown.

The unknown certainly was big.

Dream had met up with him a few minutes after he had finished memorizing the terrain and the kingdoms nearby. He had found nothing in Peligro's secret base except for many stacks of blank parchment. All blank --- except for one. It had a kingdom name scrawled on it in messy handwriting. After staring at a map for so long, George knew exactly where it was.

The only problem was, it was pretty far away.

They had headed out to find Sapnap at the village nearby where he was supposed to be scouting. It had taken them a long time to find him, and when they _did_ find Sapnap, they were met by a pack of wolves chasing him.

"I have a bone to pick with wolves in general," Sapnap said quietly. "I know you're not the same pack. But you still targeted me for _no reason at all._ Nature hates me. So I'll hate it back."

_No. Sapnap, no._

At that instant, Sapnap attacked.

He lunged forward, opening a large slash on first wolf's chest. It gave a wail of a howl and collapsed on the ground, its blood staining its brown fur. 

The other wolves howled in broken harmony and bounded toward Sapnap, protected only by the leather armor he wore and his sword, their claws outstretched. 

"No, Dream!" George shouted as the assassin jumped down from the tree. He watched helplessly as Dream pulled out his knife and began fighting, whirling around among the wolves, taking out an animal with each strike. 

_Oh no oh no oh no._

_Am I going to do this?_

_Yes, of course. They're my friends._

George exhaled, then leapt down from his tree as well.


	3. Chapter 3

Dream was an assassin. He was the best. He never failed. But then, he let one of his targets escape alive. And not only that, but he escaped with him.

All because he had gone soft. He had made friends with the one he was supposed to kill instead of doing his job, and now he was going after Peligro, his employer, and taking him out.

Peligro was a bad man. He had done many bad things. He was the dark lord of the business he had created with assassins, and now Dream was going to be the one to kill him. To end his life. To make sure that he didn't hurt anyone else ever again.

The wolves might be a problem, though.

Dream smiled at George as he landed beside him. "Nice of you to join the party," he called over as he took down another wolf with his knife.

"Shut up," George grumbled as he drew his sword.

Dream slashed and hacked through the animals. As his muscles adapted to the movements, they became second instinct. He let his mind go on autopilot as his reflexes took control.

It was purely what he had been trained for, what he had spent half of his life working towards. Fighting, taking down the opponent, leaving no one left to tell the tale.

 _Stop. That's not_ you _anymore._

Confusion crossed his mind, making his temporarily lower his knife. A wolf lunged at him. His eyes widened in surprise, but his concentration had been broken. His arm raised up to stop the blow, but he was too late.

Suddenly, a sword sliced in front of him, tossing the battered body of the wolf to the side. Dream stared at Sapnap, who was breathing heavily, his sword covered in blood. He looked angry, though whether it was because of the wolves or because of Dream, he didn't know.

The remaining wolves turned and fled into the woods, their tails disappearing in the foliage.

Sapnap huffed and kicked at the dirt. "I hate nature."

He sat down on the ground and crossed his arms, pouting like a little kid. Dream clumsily sat down beside him, feeling dizzy from the sudden exertion and loss of blood. A moment later, George joined them.

Dream glanced around to make sure that no more wolves were hanging around, then exhaled in relief and checked the wound on his arm. It needed taking care of. Hopefully there were bandages in the bag George was carrying. _Probably_ there were. They got hurt all the time.

"Wolves aren't the only thing nature has to offer," Dream said. "There's a lot of good, too. Like this forest, for example."

"Where the wolves attacked us."

"And the streams that offer fresh water-"

"Which the wolves drink from as well."

"And the trees that can provide lumber, rubber, and much more."

Dream gave Sapnap a hard look, daring him to come up with a retort to that. Sapnap hesitated, then sighed. "Fine, you win. But... _wolves._ They hate me."

"Humans," Dream said with a shrug. "They hate me."

"You guys are overreacting," George said. "Come on, knock it off. We need to get to the kingdom as fast as possible."

Dream gave Sapnap another look. The man still seemed uneasy, but that was natural. He had just been attacked by wolves for a second time, after a very traumatizing first encounter. If Dream was in his shoes, he'd want to track down every wolf in a fifty mile radius and _slaughter_ them.

He could only hope that he didn't fit Sapnap's shoes.

"What was the name of the kingdom again?" Dream asked.

"Kingdom Suspiro," George answered immediately.

Dream raised an eyebrow but said nothing. George blushed. "What? I spent a long time memorizing the map and the kingdoms, okay?"

"Wait, isn't that the name of _your_ kingdom, George?" Sapnap asked.

"It's not _my_ kingdom," George said, his face turning even redder, "and it's called Superiora, not Suspiro."

"Sounds the same to me."

"It's not even _close_ to being the same! There's no reason for you to---"

"Calm down," Dream said with a laugh. "Geez. George, you've got a map burnt into your mind --- are we near anything useful right now?"

Dream watched as George scrunched up his nose and thought about it for a bit. "Uh... there's a village nearby I think? It's noon so we should probably eat before we continue. We're not even close to leaving this kingdom yet."

Sapnap sighed. "How big is your kingdom? Like, actually."

"Really big," George replied, "and again, it's _not my kingdom."_

"It will be soon," Dream said with a wink.

George looked extremely flustered. Dream chuckled and shook his head slightly. He probably should've felt guilty poking fun at George, but it cheered him up. Was it nice to make him uncomfortable? Probably not. Did he still do it anyway?

...Yes.

"Dream, your mind is wandering off into space," George said, nudging him in the side. "What are you thinking about?"

"What?" Dream said, blinking. "Er... nothing."

The prince hesitated, then reached into his bag and pulled out a roll of clean sterile bandages. "Oh, thank you," Dream said in relief, accepting the roll from him. "I was hoping that you'd have some."

George snorted. "Are you _serious?_ You're always getting hurt in some way, and most of the time very seriously, so of course I came prepared."

Dream wrapped up the wound and tore it off of the roll, then handed it over to Sapnap, who was poking at a few deep scratches on his sides. He mumbled his thanks and started treating his wounds as well.

"George, are _you_ okay?" Dream asked, glancing over at him.

"Hm?" George checked around himself. "Yeah, I'm okay. No wounds. Guess I'm lucky, huh?"

"Sure," Sapnap said, giving the roll back to him.

He stuffed it into his bag and stood up, smiled uncertainly. "Okay then, it's off to the village we go. We're heading south to get to Suspiro, and when we get there, we need to be prepared. Who knows why Peligro chose to write that kingdom down and leave it for someone to find?"

"Maybe he was just being inconsiderate?" Sapnap suggested, standing up as well.

"Wishful thinking," Dream grumbled. He struggled to his feet and brushed himself off.

Sapnap shrugged. Dream smiled inwardly, though. Sapnap had clearly been rattled greatly by the wolf attack, but he was recovering. Back to his old, sarcastic self. Dream never thought that something like that would actually make him happy.

But it did.

"Dream, are you coming or not?" Sapnap yelled.

Dream looked up in a daze. Sapnap and George were already far ahead of him, with no intention of slowing down to wait. "Yeah, I'm coming," he muttered. "I'm coming."


	4. Chapter 4

Sapnap rubbed the bandaged scratches on his sides subconsciously. He didn't want to think about why they were there, or what had caused them, or what he had just been through earlier that day---

_Come on, Sapnap, stop it._

There was a nudge on his arm. Sapnap flinched away automatically, then gave an irritated sigh. "I'm sorry, Dream."

"That's fine," Dream said, giving him an odd look. "You don't have to apologize for anything. It's not your fault."

_That... is weird._

"Dream, are you feeling okay?" Sapnap asked, feeling legitimate worry.

The assassin blinked in surprise. "Uh... what do you mean? _I_ was supposed to ask _you_ that."

Sapnap took a deep breath. He looked at George, who was walking in front of them, muttering to himself as he tried to figure out their location. Then he looked back at Dream. The concern on his face was very real. 

"You mean... the wolves?"

Dream opened his mouth, then shut it again. "I--- yeah. Yeah, that. Do you wanna, I dunno, talk about it?"

"If I say not really, would you drop the topic?"

He fingered the bandages again. Dream gave him a slight smile and shrugged. "No. Just talk to be about it. I can be your psychiatrist." 

For some stupid reason, Sapnap's mind went back to that night in the castle, when they seen their rooms for the first time. Like an idiot, he had asked about his family house. Then he had went further, asking about his childhood.

_"No offense, Sapnap, but you're a horrible psychiatrist."_

And now their situation was reversed.

"Sure," Sapnap said. "My psychiatrist. Right. I'd love that."

Dream chuckled uneasily. "Alright, then. What happened the first time?"

_Right to the point. Okay._

"I, uh nearly died?"

_That's a good enough of a start as any, right?_

Dream waited patiently for him to elaborate. Sapnap switched up the pace of his walking, just to distract him a bit. Then he continued. "I was just wandering around like a normal little kid would go, in the forest, just walking around. I heard a howl. Then out of nowhere, they attacked me."

"Why'd they attack you this time?" Dream asked.

Sapnap shrugged. "This time was just like last time, if that makes any sense. I wasn't doing anything. And then they were attacking."

"Maybe it's a scent on you," his friend suggested.

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying that I smell?"

"Maybe."

"That is very discouraging," Sapnap scowled.

"Hey, I never specified whether that smell was good or bad."

_"Very discouraging."_

"There _has_ to be a reason why they attacked you, though," Dream said, his brow furrowing slightly. "Looking at it logically, there isn't any reason for them to go forward and try to kill you without any cause or reason."

"Logic," Sapnap said glumly. "Who needs that?"

***

Sapnap was pretty relieved when they finally reached the village. 

It was large compared to the villages he had been in before. A lot of people were walking around, buying products and chatting casually. Everything was so peaceful that Sapnap couldn't help but feel at ease.

"This is a nice village," George remarked, looking around with interest. "I think I've been here before once with my father."

"I've been here before," Dream said darkly. 

_Assassin matters, huh?_

_Feel free to_ not _go into that._

George cleared his throat uncomfortably. "Um, okay. We should hunker down for the night, wait until the sun comes up again, then keep on moving."

Sapnap frowned. "Why? We can get further if we move through the night. We'll reach the kingdom in no time."

"It's far away," George reminded him. "That's a _lot_ of walking."

"Come on, it can't be _that_ bad---"

"You both have good points," Dream interrupted, giving them tired looks. "Tonight, we're staying here. Firstly, because we all need rest after travelling for an entire day on top of battling some wolves. Tomorrow morning, we'll see if we can get horses. It'll be quicker and more efficient with them." 

He paused. Sapnap raised an eyebrow. That was the only thing _he_ could think of. What other reasons could there be?

"Secondly," Dream continued, "we have to watch out for assassins."

George froze. Sapnap's steps faltered as his heart did a little skip. "Assassins?"

"I don't know why you're both so surprised," Dream said coolly. "We're going after the king of the dark side of the law and you expect him to just sit back and wait for us to advance?"

"That would be nice," George said in a small voice.

Dream scoffed. "You can't be serious. No, there will _definitely_ be assassins after us, I can guarantee it. It's not smart to stay in one spot for too long, but right now, it's still too early for anything to happen. We can rest, but just this once." 

_Well, that certainly dampened the mood. Good job, Dream._

_But he_ is _the voice of reason, though. ___

__"You're right," George agreed. "Sapnap?"_ _

__Sapnap hesitated, then nodded. "Yeah. It's the best option we've got."_ _

__"George, tell me you have money in that bag of yours," Dream said._ _

__The prince grinned. "It's the bag of essentials. Of _course_ I have money. I also have some gluten-free cheese in here as well if anyone wants some."_ _

__Sapnap stared at him. He shrugged. "What? Who knows when you might need some gluten-free cheese?"_ _

__George dug around the bag a bit, then pulled out ten gleaming coins. He poured them into Dream's hands, who slipped the coins into his pocket. "Alright, that should be enough. With this much money, we should be able to get a decent room tonight."_ _

__"Er... how many rooms, exactly?" George asked cautiously. "Are we sharing, or...?"_ _

__"What, you don't want to be roommates with us?" Sapnap teased._ _

__"Uh...."_ _

__"Leave him alone, Sapnap," Dream said, already heading towards the center of the village. George threw Sapnap a dirty look, then started following him._ _

__Sapnap trailed behind uncertainly, glancing back over his shoulder. He didn't know why. Maybe it was out of habit, especially after another wolf pack attack, but he had to admit that he _was_ jumpier than usual._ _

__It might've been because of his high-strung nerves, but the forest they had come out from looked even more sinister than before._ _


	5. Chapter 5

George laid down on the bed. It was soft and comfortable, and though it wasn't as plush as the ones in the castle, it was still of very fine quality. If anything, he was glad that he didn't get any special treatment for being the prince. The man behind the counter just took their money, bid them goodnight, and waved them away.

No questions asked, no questions answered.

Brilliant.

"This is really comfy," he remarked, glancing over at Dream. The assassin was lounging on the bed a few feet away from him, stretched out like a cat.

"Mmm," Dream mumbled in agreement.

It turned out they didn't need three separate rooms. The room they were in had three beds, one next to the window and the other next to the door, with one bed right in between. It was to be expected, though, for such a big village.

George turned onto his side and gazed out the view provided by the window next to him. The sky was dark, and the lights of the houses shone brightly in the dimness. Trails of smoke wafted out from the chimney tops, billowing up to mingle among the clouds. It was such a peaceful scene. He didn't know why he had never ventured out far before and experienced the beauty of the world.

From the center bed, Dream gave a little snore. _Oh, right. Assassins._

"Is he asleep already?" George asked in a hushed voice, turning onto his other side to peer over at him.

Sapnap checked him, then nodded in confirmation. "I can't believe he fell asleep so quickly."

"Quit talking," Dream mumbled. George gave a start of surprise, then sighed. "I'm trying to get some sleep, you know."

"How are you awake already?" George asked incredulously.

"I'm a light sleeper." The man gave a wide yawn, then snuggled further into his blankets. "And a quick one, too."

"Clearly," Sapnap muttered as soft snores started filling the room again.

***

"Get up."

George opened his gazed and looked around blearily. "W-what? But it's dark out!"

Dream slipped on his leather strap and pulled on his black fingerless gloves. He adjusted his cloak and sighed. "Yes, but it'll be light soon. I've already checked around, and nobody has horses for sale."

"But this is such a big village!"

"I _know._ That's what _I_ thought, too. Apparently, we both thought wrong."

"Dream was wrong about something?"

George looked around Dream and spotted Sapnap, who was sitting upright on his bed, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

Dream scowled. "You were _asleep!_ How did that--- nevermind, I honestly don't want to know."

Sapnap grinned. George sighed and shook his head. He climbed out of bed and stretched, then ran a hand through his hair. "We need to go to the next nearest village, then. Hopefully there will be horses. If not, we'll be close enough to the border that we won't need them anyway."

"We need horses," Dream said. "After we cross the border---"

"Hold up," Sapnap said, raising his hands in a _stop everything_ gesture. "Border? I was born in this kingdom and barely spent any time outside of the safety of my home. What border? What does it look like?"

"It's a very long, very wide river," George supplied. "Getting across it is either very difficult or very expensive. And we don't have a boat."

"But we have money." Dream grabbed the bag and tossed it to George, who just managed to catch it before it fell onto the ground. "Come on. Let's get moving."

George put on his cloak and tied up his shoes. He stood up and followed Dream towards the door, casting one last look at the room he had spent the night in. _Such a comfortable bed,_ he thought with an inwardly sigh.

"Come _on,_ Sapnap," Dream called.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," came the reply.

They headed down the stairs. The man behind the counter gave them a nod. Dream didn't react, but George smiled back at him.

Something shiny caught his eye. He frowned slightly, then gasped as realization dawned on him. "No, _Dre---"_

Dream whirled around and caught the handle of the knife as it whizzed past him, then threw it back at the sender. It flew through the air, handle over blade, before finally sinking itself into the chest of the man. He crumpled to the ground, dead.

George gaped at the spot behind the counter where he knew the body lay. "I--- you just---"

"Sapnap," Dream called, this time actual irritation in his voice. "We have to go. Hurry up."

Sapnap hurried down the stairs. He glanced over at the counter and frowned. "Oh... did I miss something?"

"Nope," Dream said, already out the door.

"You missed a lot," George told Sapnap in a hushed voice as they headed after him. "Dream is a _psychic ninja."_

He laughed at the skeptical look on his friend's face. "Sure," Sapnap said uncertainly. "Whatever you say, George."

"If you don't believe me, throw something at Dream. Right now."

"Are you _serious?_ I want to live to a ripe old age, thank you."

"He's a psychic ninja, Sapnap."

Sapnap hesitated. George watched with amusement as a flurry of emotions crossed his face, before he finally gave a loud sigh and grabbed a rock from on the street. "If he kills me it's your fault."

He chucked the rock at the back of Dream's head. With a reaction just as quick as when he had caught the knife, the assassin stepped to the side and caught the stone, not even turning around. He tossed it to the ground and kept walking.

George giggled at the baffled look on Sapnap's face. "See?"

"He didn't even turn around to look at us," Sapnap half-whispered. "He just--- catch, then kept going. _How?"_

"I told you already. He's a psychic ninja."


	6. Chapter 6

Dream turned the bottle over in his hands, looking at it from all angles. It had a round, spherical body and a tube-like neck with a cork stopping its contents from spilling out. If he didn't know better, he'd say that it was just a simple bottle. But the content inside told him otherwise.

"Woah, what's that?" Sapnap asked, peering over his shoulder.

"A potion," Dream said. He gave the bottle a slight shake. The slightly-glowing liquid reddish inside sloshed around. "It's for healing, I think."

"You think right, boy," the man behind the potions stand said with a slight nod. "It's a healing potion. It would fix up those wounds on you, too."

Dream glanced down at the bandages on his arm. The pain had been so constant that he'd nearly forgotten about it. "Thank you, sir," he said with what he hoped looked like a genuine smile. "But I think I'll be fine."

He handed the potion back to the man, who carefully placed it back on the cloth covering the table. _I don't need a healing potion. I just won't get_ that _injured, right?_

"Thank you, sir."

Dream frowned and turned around. George was holding the bottle, tossing a handful of coins on the table. He turned to Dream and smiled embarrassingly. "Sorry. I'm just... paranoid, I guess? Our bandages are going to run out eventually."

Sapnap took the potion from George and examined it. "Wow, this is so cool! Is it red or pink?"

"Why are you so focused on the color?" Dream asked, his frown deepening. "Did you really just buy that?"

They headed down the street. Dream glanced around the rest of the shops. He wasn't exactly sure what he was looking for. Useful things? Other assassins?

Whatever it was, he was definitely on guard.

"Here," George said, handing the potion to him. Dream accepted it with another frown. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "You're constantly getting hurt, so I thought you might need it."

"I'm not _constantly_ getting hurt," Dream protested.

George simply raised an eyebrow at the bandages on his arm. Sapnap snickered. "He's got a point there, Dream."

Dream's head whipped up and he looked around wildly, checking to see if anybody had heard him. Nobody seemed to have noticed, or at the very least, they were good at pretending.

"Don't say my name," he warned in a low voice. "Remember how that man behind the counter targeted me? If I had to guess, Peligro hired a spy to follow Sapnap and me when we were first heading to the castle. That spy has probably tipped off Peligro on what I look like, which means that he can freely send people after us. But common citizens don't know me. If they do, they'll be sure to attack as well."

Sapnap sighed. "Travelling with you is _hard."_

"Just call me Clay."

Dream untied a short length of rope that he had attached to his leather strap and secured the potion near the bottom. He tapped on the glass, still unable to believe that George had literally bought the potion for him.

_He's your friend, that's why. He's just looking out for you. Stop feeling like you owe him something._

"We should get out of this village," Dream said, glancing around again. "Peligro has definitely set up assassins here. It would be best to head out."

His companions nodded. Dream didn't know the exact lay of the land like George did, but he did know his directions. With the sun climbing the sky and disappearing from sight, he headed away from its tail, going east.

There were many kingdoms, but most were far enough away that he didn't have to worry about them. A winding river separated Superiora from its neighbors on the left, serving as a natural border between them. To the top left was Guerrier, and to the bottom was Suspiro, separated not by a river but by a long mountain range.

The only reason Dream knew this was because he had to know which areas were assassins' territory.

"Wait, Dream, the border is towards the south," George said in confusion.

Dream shook his head. "We're not going towards the river yet. We need to find horses."

"Can't we just tame some along the way?" Sapnap asked.

"Riding horseback without a saddle is hard," Dream replied. "And besides, it would be better to get trained horses that won't question our authority."

He stopped suddenly and turned towards Sapnap, feeling his arms and sides. "Hey!" Sapnap yelped, jumping away from him. "Keep your hands to yourself, man!"

"Come back," Dream said, suppressing a chuckle. "I'm just feeling around to see if you have any suspicious objects on you."

 _"What?_ 'Suspicious?' What's that supposed to mean? Come on, I'm trustworthy!"

"Not _you._ I'm checking to see if someone slipped a charm onto you or something."

Sapnap still didn't look convinced, but he let Dream approach him and search around his body. Dream frowned as he felt the deep folds in his sleeves and cloak, then checked his pockets. Nothing.

_But that doesn't make sense._

_There_ has _to be something._

_Unless..._

Dream snapped his fingers. "A curse!"

"Er... what?" Sapnap asked.

"A _curse,"_ Dream repeated. "You must've been cursed at some point. That's why the wolves are after you."

At the word _wolves,_ Sapnap stiffened and glanced around quickly. He looked so much like a prey caught in the trap of a predator that Dream immediately regretted his words. "I'm sorry," he apologized quickly. "It's just that... I can't stop thinking about it."

"So I've been cursed?" Sapnap rubbed his arm nervously. "That would make sense, actually."

"I can't be certain, of course," Dream mumbled, pushing back Sapnap's hair and checking his ears. "But, um, yeah, that seems like the most plausible right now."

"Is there a way to _uncurse_ him?" George asked, shifting from one foot to the other as he waited for Dream's inspection to finish.

Dream shook his head. "Not that _I_ know of. The assassins I trained with always told me to avoid people in general as a rule. 'If you want to avoid getting cursed by a mage, just avoid getting close to them.'"

"But I've never met a mage in my life," Sapnap protested.

"It doesn't have to be _you,"_ Dream explained. "It could've been a relative that got on the wrong side of one. Mages are tricky. Easily annoyed. Very annoying themselves."

Sapnap blanched. George gave him an awkward pat on the back. "That's fine, right? We just ask someone who knows how to lift a curse, and then do the lifting! Easy."

"Not that easy," Dream said with a sigh. "Come on. Maybe there will be someone who knows at the next village we encounter."

***

Dream's feet ached.

Even after walking for miles upon miles while training, standing for hours on end on hot coals, and doing basically every kind of torture imaginable to his feet, but just an hour or two of walking through flat fields were starting to kill him.

"We need to stop," Dream said suddenly, sitting down on the ground.

George stepped over his head. He ducked down, avoiding a shoe to the noggin, and straightened again with a scowl. "I stop because I'm tired and you literally almost _step_ on me?"

"Man, my feet are _dead,"_ Sapnap complained.

"Same," Dream sighed. "All that training for nothing, I guess."

"Training?" George asked curiously. "You weren't already a knight before we met, right?"

"He means training as an assassin," Sapnap spoke up. "It's supposed to be really rigorous training, but it toughens you up. I did something sort of similar to it when I was training at home, but nobody except for the assassins know what it's _really_ like. Even so, the stuff I did made me regret my life choices for a _week."_

"Just a week?" Dream asked with a humourless laugh.

"What's it like?" George asked.

Dream shook his head. "Bad. I don't want to go into it."

He looked away, focusing his attention on the village in the distance where they had come from. The potion attached to his shoulder strap made a soft clinking noise as it bumped against the ceramic of his smiley mask. The becoming of an assassin... he hated it with all of his might. Having to kill for the first time, pushing your body to the highest possible limits, desperately clawing up to the top of the power ladder.

Some things he just didn't want to relive.


	7. Chapter 7

Sapnap stood up and brushed himself off. He glanced up at the sun, which was still making its way across the sky, then looked back down at his travel buddies. "You know, I really hate to be the one saying this, but I think we should keep moving."

"You're right," Dream said, getting to his feet as well. He _definitely_ didn't look like he wanted to keep going, but fear of what might happen if they stayed in one spot for too long probably got to him. "George, how far away is the next nearest village again?"

George frowned. "Um... quite far. Two to three days journey on foot, at least."

Sapnap groaned internally. At least two more days of walking? His resolve dissipated all at once.

"Nope, don't do that," Dream said, grabbing Sapnap's arm as he tried to sit down again. "'Keep moving,' you said. Don't be a hypocrite."

His feet started carrying him after Dream and George again, even though his mind really didn't want to. The grass felt too soft underneath his shoes, but at the same time, if the ground had been hard, he'd probably be complaining anyway.

"So, Dream," he said, in a horrible attempt at small talk, "what's your real name?"

Dream glanced back at him. "What do you mean? You don't believe that I'm actually called 'Dream?'"

Sapnap gave a laugh. "Are you kidding? Who names their child _'Dream?'_ Please, that's stupid."

Probably not the smartest thing to say to an assassin.

"I chose that name," Dream said, shooting him a glare. "I'm stupid then, I guess."

"I'm sure there's an interesting backstory to it," George said hurriedly.

"What's your real name then?" Sapnap pressed forward, ignoring the scalding glare he got from the prince.

"That's a secret."

Sapnap tilted his head to one side and peered at him. Did Dream look kind of... wistful?

A life of being an assassin. That wasn't true. No matter how hard it was to believe, Dream had once been a kid, too. A mere child before his innocence was stolen from him and he was shoved into the world of killing and murder.

_Crap. I did it again, didn't I? With Dream, it feels like I'm trying to navigate through a land riddled with mines._

"I shouldn't tell you, even if I wanted to," Dream said with a soft sigh. _"Especially_ if I wanted to. Names have power, interestingly enough. It can be used to trace back to the past, and the past is a dangerous weapon. That information wouldn't really do you any good. Actually, it would probably get you killed."

George laughed dryly. "We're probably going to die travelling with you anyway."

Sapnap shrugged. "Hey, death? Pain, tremendous pain, and even more pain? That's what we live for!"

Dream glanced over at him to see if he was being serious, and Sapnap grinned back. The man smiled slightly.

_Whew. Land mine deactivated._

"There's a forest!" George exclaimed happily. "It'll be harder to get ambushed while travelling in there, right, Dream?"

Dream snorted. "Actually, the exact opposite is true. I would definitely prefer a flat, open plain if we're trying not to get jumped, but there's no way around it, I suppose."

George squinted at it. "Yeah... I think I need to go through it. Travelling around would take too long, and our feet wouldn't be able to stand it."

The forest didn't seem all that inviting. Despite the sun, the leaves of the uppermost trees blocked out all light. He could barely see a meter in.

"My gut instinct is telling me that that forest is bad news," Sapnap declared.

"We have to go in," George sighed, trudging forward. "It'll give us some cover, at least."

"And cover to any assassins wanting to kill us," Dream muttered, following after him.

Sapnap shivered. _Forests._ Where there were forests, there were wolves.

He headed in.

***

Sapnap didn't like being surrounded by all the trees and darkness. Before, he would've absolutely welcomed it as a change from walking in the sun all day. But after nature threw another wolf attack at him, he wasn't quite sure if he was ready to trust it again.

 _Trust._ What a peculiar emotion. He never really knew what to do with it. It would come and go so easily, there for one second, gone the next.

He had trusted Dream back when they were first heading towards the castle, and then had that trust broken when his friend turned out to be an assassin. Then after _that,_ Dream turned out to be a decent guy, refraining from ending their lives.

It was hard to handle trust. He always seemed to be shoving it into the hands of the wrong people. But now, at least, it seemed like he had finally given it to the right guys.

 _Did_ he?

"What do you guys wanna do in the village?" Dream asked cheerfully.

"Mm, I dunno," George said with a frown. "Isn't it our objective to find some horses?"

"Yeah, but we're travelling a lot, aren't we? We could stop and look around sometimes."

Sapnap laughed. "You're the assassin, with all the assassin knowledge, and _you're_ saying that we should stop for some sightseeing?"

"It's George's first time actually going away from his castle home," Dream said defensively. "It's also your first time, Sap. I thought you might enjoy it."

_That is... unexpected._

"Sightseeing sounds fun," Sapnap said with a nonchalant shrug. "Let's do it, then."

Dream raised an eyebrow. "I thought you'd be more eager, seeing how you've basically been living under a rock for most of your life."

"I'm kind of more worried about staying alive, you know."

His friend grinned. "Sightseeing it is."

Sapnap swerved around a patch of thorns and followed in silent confusion. He stared at Dream's back, taking in the details to stop his mind from blowing a fuse.

Green cloak, frayed at the edges from overuse.

_Sightseeing. Sounds like fun. But what if we see an assassin?_

As his cloak swished towards the side, Sapnap caught a glimpse of Dream's mask. It seemed so innocent, hanging from his belt like that. But he had seen it in the dark, with the light of the moon glinting off of it. That was the stuff of nightmares.

_Dream. Nightmares. Heh._

_He's a dream, but everyone knows him as a nightmare._

_Can you trust a nightmare?_

The sound of his boots against the forest floor was soothing, but occasionally, when he stepped on a smooth rock or something, there was the sound of a clink. Probably, his soles were tipped with steel. Maybe he kicked his victims to death or---

_What in the world is going through my mind right now?_

"Watch your head," Dream's voice called.

Sapnap blinked. _What?_

Then the branch smacked his face and he blacked out.


End file.
